NAME

       mkdir - make directories

SYNOPSIS

       mkdir [-p][-m mode] dir...

DESCRIPTION

       The mkdir utility shall create the directories specified by the operands, in the order specified.

       For  each dir operand, the mkdir utility shall perform actions equivalent to the mkdir() function defined
       in the System Interfaces volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, called with the following arguments:

        1. The dir operand is used as the path argument.

        2. The value of the bitwise-inclusive OR of S_IRWXU, S_IRWXG, and S_IRWXO is used as the mode  argument.
           (If the -m option is specified, the mode option-argument overrides this default.)

OPTIONS

       The  mkdir  utility  shall  conform to the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section 12.2,
       Utility Syntax Guidelines.

       The following options shall be supported:

       -m  mode
              Set the file permission bits of the newly-created directory to the specified mode value. The  mode
              option-argument  shall  be  the  same  as  the  mode operand defined for the chmod utility. In the
              symbolic_mode strings, the op characters '+' and '-' shall be interpreted relative to  an  assumed
              initial  mode  of  a=  rwx;  '+'  shall  add  permissions  to  the  default mode, '-' shall delete
              permissions from the default mode.

       -p     Create any missing intermediate pathname components.

       For each dir operand that does not name an existing directory, effects equivalent to those caused by  the
       following command shall occur:

              mkdir -p -m $(umask -S),u+wx $(dirname dir) &&
              mkdir [-m mode] dir

       where the -m mode option represents that option supplied to the original invocation of mkdir, if any.

       Each dir operand that names an existing directory shall be ignored without error.

OPERANDS

       The following operand shall be supported:

       dir    A pathname of a directory to be created.

STDIN

       Not used.

INPUT FILES

       None.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       The following environment variables shall affect the execution of mkdir:

       LANG   Provide  a  default  value for the internationalization variables that are unset or null. (See the
              Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section 8.2, Internationalization  Variables  for
              the  precedence  of  internationalization  variables  used  to  determine  the  values  of  locale
              categories.)

       LC_ALL If set to a non-empty string value, override the values  of  all  the  other  internationalization
              variables.

       LC_CTYPE
              Determine  the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data as characters (for
              example, single-byte as opposed to multi-byte characters in arguments).

       LC_MESSAGES
              Determine the locale that should be used to affect the format and contents of diagnostic  messages
              written to standard error.

       NLSPATH
              Determine the location of message catalogs for the processing of LC_MESSAGES .

ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS

       Default.

STDOUT

       Not used.

STDERR

       The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.

OUTPUT FILES

       None.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

       None.

EXIT STATUS

       The following exit values shall be returned:

        0     All the specified directories were created successfully or the -p option was specified and all the
              specified directories now exist.

       >0     An error occurred.

CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS

       Default.

       The following sections are informative.

APPLICATION USAGE

       The  default  file mode for directories is a= rwx (777 on most systems) with selected permissions removed
       in accordance with the file mode creation mask. For intermediate pathname components  created  by  mkdir,
       the  mode is the default modified by u+ wx so that the subdirectories can always be created regardless of
       the file mode creation  mask;  if  different  ultimate  permissions  are  desired  for  the  intermediate
       directories, they can be changed afterwards with chmod.

       Note that some of the requested directories may have been created even if an error occurs.

EXAMPLES

       None.

RATIONALE

       The System V -m option was included to control the file mode.

       The  System  V -p option was included to create any needed intermediate directories and to complement the
       functionality provided by rmdir for removing directories  in  the  path  prefix  as  they  become  empty.
       Because no error is produced if any path component already exists, the -p option is also useful to ensure
       that a particular directory exists.

       The  functionality of mkdir is described substantially through a reference to the mkdir() function in the
       System Interfaces volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001. For example, by default, the mode of the  directory  is
       affected  by  the  file  mode  creation  mask  in  accordance  with the specified behavior of the mkdir()
       function. In this way, there is less duplication  of  effort  required  for  describing  details  of  the
       directory creation.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       chmod() , rm , rmdir() , umask() , the System Interfaces volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, mkdir()

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition,
       Standard  for  Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
       Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the  original  IEEE  and
       The  Open  Group  Standard,  the  original  IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The
       original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                                   2003                                              MKDIR(P)